Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics

Katherine Mavrommati; Eileen W. Rossman; Brian P. Self; Jay Tyler Davis

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Zone IV Conference
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Publication Date: March 25, 2018
Start Date: March 25, 2018
End Date: March 27, 2018
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29618
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/29618
Download Count: 342

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Katherine Mavrommati California Polytechnic State University

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I am a senior Biomedical Engineering major and have been working at the Human Motion Biomechanics Lab at Cal Poly for the past two years. As a research assistant I work on several projects including calculating knee contact forces during different types of exercise and creating educational modules that incorporate our motion tracking technology in various classes. The classes range from kinesiology to dynamics to biomechanics classes. The labs that we create help enhance the student’s experience in the class with a real life application while allowing them to use state of the art technology.

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Eileen W. Rossman California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

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Eileen Rossman has a worked in various industries for over 14 years before starting a career teaching engineering. Here industry experience includes field support for Navy Nuclear refueling with Westinghouse, analysis and programming of pipeline flow solutions with Stoner Associates, and design of elevator structures and drive components with Schindler Elevator.

Since 2002, Eileen has taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University. Her teaching experience includes Basic and Intermediate Fluids, Basic and Intermediate Dynamics, Statics, Machine Design, and Thermal Measurements.

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Brian P. Self California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

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Brian Self obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech, and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Utah. He worked in the Air Force Research Laboratories before teaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy for seven years. Brian has taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo since 2006. During the 2011-2012 academic year he participated in a professor exchange, teaching at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. His engineering education interests include collaborating on the Dynamics Concept Inventory, developing model-eliciting activities in mechanical engineering courses, inquiry-based learning in mechanics, and design projects to help promote adapted physical activities. Other professional interests include aviation physiology and biomechanics.

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Jay Tyler Davis II

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Abstract

Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics

Katherine Mavrommati, Jay Davis, Sonya Dick, Eileen Rossman, Brian P. Self California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of introducing students in an undergraduate dynamics course to motion analysis technology. Motion capture technology is used in a variety of engineering fields ranging from biomechanics research to surgical technologies and computer vision. In typical dynamics courses, little is done to connect the methods and theories being taught to practical applications a student may encounter in an engineering job. As a result, students are often insufficiently motivated in their study of dynamics. The students used the live motion capture technology found in the Human Motion Biomechanics Lab at Cal Poly to analyze the kinematics of a real life application. The motion capture system consisted of near infrared cameras tracking the location of retroreflective markers. The students chose a real life particle or rigid body dynamics application, designed an experiment and created their own dynamics problem which they then solved with the data they acquired. We hoped that allowing students to choose their own topic of study would help increase their motivation levels and allow them to see how dynamics principles apply to their everyday lives. Students’ project ideas ranged from utilizing the human body to create rigid body problems to impulse-momentum problems by colliding objects of different mass. Finally, the students were asked to word their project as a dynamics problem similar to what is found in their textbook and solve it using the acquired data. Additionally, they were asked to reflect on the accuracy of their analytical solution compared to the numerical solutions from the acquired data. We will report on how the students performed on the dynamics task, and provide results of a subjective survey to assess student motivation and learning. Additionally, we will discuss best practices for other instructors who may wish to incorporate similar projects in their own courses.

Citation
Format

Mavrommati, K., & Rossman, E. W., & Self, B. P., & Davis, J. T. (2018, March), Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Boulder, Colorado. 10.18260/1-2--29618

TY - CPAPER
AB - Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics

Katherine Mavrommati, Jay Davis, Sonya Dick, Eileen Rossman, Brian P. Self
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of introducing students in an undergraduate dynamics course to motion analysis technology. Motion capture technology is used in a variety of engineering fields ranging from biomechanics research to surgical technologies and computer vision. In typical dynamics courses, little is done to connect the methods and theories being taught to practical applications a student may encounter in an engineering job. As a result, students are often insufficiently motivated in their study of dynamics.
The students used the live motion capture technology found in the Human Motion Biomechanics Lab at Cal Poly to analyze the kinematics of a real life application. The motion capture system consisted of near infrared cameras tracking the location of retroreflective markers. The students chose a real life particle or rigid body dynamics application, designed an experiment and created their own dynamics problem which they then solved with the data they acquired. We hoped that allowing students to choose their own topic of study would help increase their motivation levels and allow them to see how dynamics principles apply to their everyday lives. Students’ project ideas ranged from utilizing the human body to create rigid body problems to impulse-momentum problems by colliding objects of different mass. Finally, the students were asked to word their project as a dynamics problem similar to what is found in their textbook and solve it using the acquired data. Additionally, they were asked to reflect on the accuracy of their analytical solution compared to the numerical solutions from the acquired data.
We will report on how the students performed on the dynamics task, and provide results of a subjective survey to assess student motivation and learning. Additionally, we will discuss best practices for other instructors who may wish to incorporate similar projects in their own courses.
AU - Katherine Mavrommati
AU - Eileen W. Rossman
AU - Brian P. Self
AU - Jay Tyler Davis II
CY - Boulder, Colorado
DA - 2018/03/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics
UR - https://peer.asee.org/29618
DO - 10.18260/1-2--29618
ER -